When Zhang Ruojie came to Fengming, he realized how difficult it is to be a parental official. People come to complain about trivial matters all day long at the yamen gate. He originally wanted to punish Zhang Ming like the last Fengming county magistrate. The drum was moved to the backyard, but I couldn't bear it after all.
Someone complained that he was about to be promoted to the hall. Zhang Ruomiao changed his official uniform and sat in the middle of the hall. He was quite majestic. At the beginning, in order not to wear this official uniform, Zhang Ruomiao did not hesitate to deliberately make a fool of himself in the palace exam, but he did not expect that he could not escape the fate of Zhang's family as an official for generations.
The woman kneeling in the hall claimed to be the widow He Wang from the eastern suburbs, holding a four-year-old baby in her arms. According to what she said, when her husband died of illness three years ago, she left two acres of good land for her. These years, by renting out the land to earn some food, the mother and son can live well for two days, but her family came last month. A man who claimed to be a distant relative of her husband said that the two acres of good land were ancestral property and that he wanted to take it back. Wouldn't this cut off the way out for their mother and son? .
Zhang Ruojie's brain hurts when he hears these household chores and trivial matters, so he quickly waved his hand to ask the yamen to go to He Wang's house to bring the distant relative and let the two confront each other. The person was brought in quickly, Zhang Ruomiao squinted at the widow and then at the man who claimed to be a distant relative, his thoughts changed, and he opened his mouth to ask.
" Both of you said that the two acres of good land in the eastern suburbs belong to your own family. Do you have the title deed to prove it? "
" Of course there is! " The two replied in unison, then glared at each other and said, " You are talking nonsense! "
" Shut up, there is no room for the two of you to quarrel in the lobby. Since you all say that there is a land deed as proof, then show it to this official. "
A strange thing, it really is a strange thing. The land deeds presented by the two are actually exactly the same, except that a special black seal was stamped on the back of the man's land deed. Zhang Ruomiao felt very familiar at first glance, but after taking a closer look, he suddenly realized. The pattern of the seal is actually very similar to the pattern on the weird token that he just took out from the pit of bones!
Zhang Ruomiao frowned and coughed lightly. Fang Ping, who was seriously taking notes, raised his head and glanced at him. He stretched his neck and shouted: "The land deed is issued by the imperial court. This is a serious matter, and we need to check the other party carefully. If you can distinguish the true from the false, I will withdraw from the court today and re-examine it tomorrow. "
After dismissing the complainant, Zhang Ruomiao hurried to the side hall to find Agui with the strange land deed in his hand, and took out the pig iron token dug up in the morning from his arms. The two were more similar in comparison, except that The lines on the seal are not as scary as those on the token, and the size is smaller.
" This is surprising. There will never be two identical land deeds issued by the imperial court. What's the matter with this seal? " Agui scratched his head with a puzzled face. Zhang Ruomiao also thought it was very strange. Especially in connection with that side of the White Bone Pit, it is even more sinister.
" I do n't think it's better. Tomorrow I will say that this land deed with a black seal is fake. First put the person who holds the land deed in prison, and then we will investigate slowly. " appropriate. After making up his mind, Agui went out and arranged for the yamen to check the whereabouts of the foreign man, leaving Zhang Ruomiao in the study to read the token again. After thinking for a while, he found the rubbing paper and carefully rubbed the pattern on the token, and carefully put it in the box.
The spy sent by Ah Gui to investigate soon heard back. This man, who claimed to be a distant relative of He Wang's husband, came to Fengming County only a month ago. After arriving, he has been wandering in various villages. I went to He Wang's house to ask for the land, but I didn't have any contact with anyone. Moreover, the identity and place of origin registered on the register when the person entered the city were false.
"The spy also said that He Wang's husband escaped from Zhili alone in the eleventh year of Yongzheng. According to what he said, the whole family starved to death on the way, and he was the only one who survived. Why did a distant relative suddenly appear. what? "
" There's something wrong with the man who holds the land deed. " Zhang Ruomiao looked at the reply letter from the spy handed over by A Gui, and thought, " Tell Fang Ping to show me that man, and don't let him die in prison. . "
" Don't worry. " Agui nodded at him, " I asked the head of the prison to search his entire body, and he didn't leave anything that could kill himself. People watched him every day when he was eating, and he didn't even want to hide his chopsticks. "
" Of course I don't worry about your work. " Zhang Ruomiao smiled a little and shook Agui's hand lightly.
There was no response to the official document sent to the prefect's yamen, but A Gui's handwritten letter sent to Zhang Ruomiao's house arrived at Feng Ming earlier. As expected of Zhang Tingyu, who assisted the three dynasties in a stable position as Mount Tai, he replied with only three words: Got it. Zhang Ruomiao was not surprised at all. His father, his father, would have nothing to say even in the mansion on weekdays. When Zhang Ruomiao was still young, he occasionally got school guidance from his father. After the elder brother Zhang Ruoai became an official of the fifth grade and became an official in the official department, Zhang Tingyu spoke less and less at home, so he was bored. Zhang Ruomiao always sneaked to Agui's house to play with him, and was scolded a lot for this.
" I've never been able to grasp your father's temper. " Agui shook her head as she looked at the reply letter in her hand.
" Let you guess, it's still my father, don't talk about you, I've been under the eyes of his old man for so many years, isn't it the same. By the way, what letter did you use to send it? The time of the day is too fast. " Zhang Ruomiao counted with her fingers, and at this speed, she could catch up with 600 miles in a hurry.
" Flying pigeons pass on books, how slow are people sending them. " Agui scratched his ears and said lightly.
" When did you bring the carrier pigeons, why didn't I know? " Zhang Ruomiao's eyes widened. Since he and A Gui took office from Beijing, they have been together day and night, but they have never seen A Gui serving carrier pigeons or anything, so he couldn't help but be surprised.
" Hey, it's not my old man. I can't worry when I heard that I want to come with you to this remote country. I sent a family member from the house to follow our carriage and horses from a distance. I was discovered by me as soon as I left the capital. I'm afraid I didn't make it clear if you mind, I knew they were going to bring carrier pigeons! "
It seems that this general Acton is also a master who loves his son. Zhang Ruomiao just wanted to be angry that Agui was hiding it from him, but then he thought about it, if these people can be used by them, in the future if something unexpected happens , it is also convenient to use, so there is no in-depth study.
At this time, the yamen came to report, saying that Liang Dasheng, who was guarding next to the White Bone Pit, sent someone to report. In the past few days, strangers have been sneaking around the pit, and they have also probed their brains. Zhang Ruomiao was afraid that things would change, so he quickly ordered five yamen with good skills to go to the suburbs of the county, guarding with Liang Dasheng, and be sure to protect the scene.
" It seems that things are not that simple. " Zhang Ruomiao and Agui exchanged glances, and both of them frowned.